07-17-2017, 07:07 AM
Not much impressed Venom anymore. Having spent time on alien worlds and even a spell in space, Coruscant didn't do much for him. Sure, it was a great testament to technology and the things that - he sniffed the air again - mostly humans could do. Buildings and skyscrapers clawed for the simulated sky high above their heads. Flying vehicles built to resemble the rubber-wheeled cars of Earth followed invisible roads in the air. Throngs of humanoid creatures scuttled about on the sidewalks in thick, undulating crowds, pressing against each other to travel to their destinations. The hover cars occasionally descended from the clouds and hummed above the ground by centimetres, taking the roads that the citizens of Coruscant piled on the edges of.
As Roger's memories had already detailed, the city, especially at the entrance of the portal, reeked of the Imperial presence. Highly specialised troops, clad in the same pearl armour that Roger and his friend once adorned, occupied spaces in every eye shot. Some strolled through the writhing crowds on the sidewalk, their polished ebony rifles unholstered and in unashamed view of anyone who looked at them. Others zoomed around in hover cars, their opaque helmets swivelling as they passed by. The most concerning were the ones perched on rooftops, peering down into the masses below with wide, single-lensed binoculars or sleek sniper rifles.
How Roger managed to be such a poor opponent when he shared the same training and combat experience as these stooges baffled Venom, but then he sometimes underestimated the sheer terror his nightmarish form inspired.
Morsels of food trudged by the quintet every moment, unaware of the black skinned predator with greedy eyes stalking them. Saliva leaked through his teeth and rained on the ground. Venom ran a hand over his face, digging his claws in. No, he knew random violence would only endanger him here. His hunger could wait. These three inhuman companions of his seemed just as arrogant and itchy for blood as he was, and they would find what they wanted, in time. He could tell. Venom wasn't one for grand schemes and leading weak-minded fools to do his bidding, but he had been around enough of those who did to recognise them on sight. He preferred to join in for the ride, enjoy himself while he could, and then scamper off when he got bored.
Lord Zedd had yet to talk to Venom directly yet, but his stature and composure spoke of a royalty, or at least a highly ranked position. The metal Z at the apex of the spike above his head almost made Venom snicker, but he knew that the letter must have held some significance and joking about it wouldn't endear him to the stranger. Still, what fortitude he must wield to endure and survive being flayed! Ripping skin off a living creature, a pastime that Venom rarely got to anymore, was intensely agonising for the victim and it was an exceptional being that could live through that torture.
Lord Freeza, if they needed another lord in the group, made Venom smile. Obviously a tyrannical and spoilt ruler, wherever he was from, his attempts at posturing and condescension were quite entertaining. The horned humanoid's own power and expertise with iron-fist leadership bled through his bluster, however. Venom decided to keep humouring him, if only because Freeza's antics humoured the symbiote.
Kerrigan intrigued the symbiote the most. Her array of sharp claws and bone-sickle wings fascinated and beguiled; what sort of torment she could unleash with those beautifully crafted weapons of evolution! Venom locked the image of her natural implements of war in his mind, planning to emulate and develop them himself for his own macabre uses. The insectoid hunan's slithering companions, perhaps a lesser variant of her race, appeared as apex predators but ostensibly acquiesced to Kerrigan's wishes, cementing her status as a leader as well. Maybe he would have an opportunity to ... sample her unique biology.
The human whose name Venom hadn't heard yet wasn't a regular example of his kind. Despite the twisted, demented monsters surrounding him, he displayed an unflappable calm, maybe even a bored disinterest, to their possible threat. He took to calling Freeza a lord, so there was the possibility that these two had a past; could they have been master and thrall? Something niggled at Venom that it was an unlikely explanation.
That niggling became reality as the human strolled over to the symbiote, closer than most would dare to get to him, and squeezed at Venom's oily skin with his fingers, brow furrowed as if he was inspecting him.
"You are quite the strange fellow, aren't you?" he said, though his words sounded more like his thoughts out loud than any directed conversation. "When I obtain a proper base of operations, I invite you to allow me to study you further."
Venom retracted his arm from the human's impromptu examination and leaned towards him. "As much as I might look like it to you, I'm not a science experiment. And if you want to keep your hand in the future, don't bring it within biting distance of me."
The human shrugged, nonplussed at the threat, and returned to Freeza. Odd one indeed.
Venom returned to Kerrigan, wanting to make good on her earlier remarks of conversation. She spoke with greater subtlety and diplomacy than Freeza had, or perhaps even possessed, to offer to in the first place. Freeza had made the call that their discussion could continue on the other side of the portal, and no one dissented. Venom keened his senses, finding it tough to trust the insectoid human, seeing more of a hunter than an orator.
"Venom," the symbiote growled. "This other is Freeza-"
"-ahem-"
"Lord Freeza," Venom corrected himself, "and I don't know the human's name."
"Serraph Quarrere," the human offered.
"And you already know Lord Zedd." Venom was careful to include his honorific, lest he succumb to the same vain impulse. "So ... Kerrigan. I've seen a lot of the galaxy and I've never seen anything quite like you or your ... companions. What is the zerg swarm, pray tell?"
And how well do they go with chilli sauce? he mused as he swallowed back drool that rushed out at the thought.
As Roger's memories had already detailed, the city, especially at the entrance of the portal, reeked of the Imperial presence. Highly specialised troops, clad in the same pearl armour that Roger and his friend once adorned, occupied spaces in every eye shot. Some strolled through the writhing crowds on the sidewalk, their polished ebony rifles unholstered and in unashamed view of anyone who looked at them. Others zoomed around in hover cars, their opaque helmets swivelling as they passed by. The most concerning were the ones perched on rooftops, peering down into the masses below with wide, single-lensed binoculars or sleek sniper rifles.
How Roger managed to be such a poor opponent when he shared the same training and combat experience as these stooges baffled Venom, but then he sometimes underestimated the sheer terror his nightmarish form inspired.
Morsels of food trudged by the quintet every moment, unaware of the black skinned predator with greedy eyes stalking them. Saliva leaked through his teeth and rained on the ground. Venom ran a hand over his face, digging his claws in. No, he knew random violence would only endanger him here. His hunger could wait. These three inhuman companions of his seemed just as arrogant and itchy for blood as he was, and they would find what they wanted, in time. He could tell. Venom wasn't one for grand schemes and leading weak-minded fools to do his bidding, but he had been around enough of those who did to recognise them on sight. He preferred to join in for the ride, enjoy himself while he could, and then scamper off when he got bored.
Lord Zedd had yet to talk to Venom directly yet, but his stature and composure spoke of a royalty, or at least a highly ranked position. The metal Z at the apex of the spike above his head almost made Venom snicker, but he knew that the letter must have held some significance and joking about it wouldn't endear him to the stranger. Still, what fortitude he must wield to endure and survive being flayed! Ripping skin off a living creature, a pastime that Venom rarely got to anymore, was intensely agonising for the victim and it was an exceptional being that could live through that torture.
Lord Freeza, if they needed another lord in the group, made Venom smile. Obviously a tyrannical and spoilt ruler, wherever he was from, his attempts at posturing and condescension were quite entertaining. The horned humanoid's own power and expertise with iron-fist leadership bled through his bluster, however. Venom decided to keep humouring him, if only because Freeza's antics humoured the symbiote.
Kerrigan intrigued the symbiote the most. Her array of sharp claws and bone-sickle wings fascinated and beguiled; what sort of torment she could unleash with those beautifully crafted weapons of evolution! Venom locked the image of her natural implements of war in his mind, planning to emulate and develop them himself for his own macabre uses. The insectoid hunan's slithering companions, perhaps a lesser variant of her race, appeared as apex predators but ostensibly acquiesced to Kerrigan's wishes, cementing her status as a leader as well. Maybe he would have an opportunity to ... sample her unique biology.
The human whose name Venom hadn't heard yet wasn't a regular example of his kind. Despite the twisted, demented monsters surrounding him, he displayed an unflappable calm, maybe even a bored disinterest, to their possible threat. He took to calling Freeza a lord, so there was the possibility that these two had a past; could they have been master and thrall? Something niggled at Venom that it was an unlikely explanation.
That niggling became reality as the human strolled over to the symbiote, closer than most would dare to get to him, and squeezed at Venom's oily skin with his fingers, brow furrowed as if he was inspecting him.
"You are quite the strange fellow, aren't you?" he said, though his words sounded more like his thoughts out loud than any directed conversation. "When I obtain a proper base of operations, I invite you to allow me to study you further."
Venom retracted his arm from the human's impromptu examination and leaned towards him. "As much as I might look like it to you, I'm not a science experiment. And if you want to keep your hand in the future, don't bring it within biting distance of me."
The human shrugged, nonplussed at the threat, and returned to Freeza. Odd one indeed.
Venom returned to Kerrigan, wanting to make good on her earlier remarks of conversation. She spoke with greater subtlety and diplomacy than Freeza had, or perhaps even possessed, to offer to in the first place. Freeza had made the call that their discussion could continue on the other side of the portal, and no one dissented. Venom keened his senses, finding it tough to trust the insectoid human, seeing more of a hunter than an orator.
"Venom," the symbiote growled. "This other is Freeza-"
"-ahem-"
"Lord Freeza," Venom corrected himself, "and I don't know the human's name."
"Serraph Quarrere," the human offered.
"And you already know Lord Zedd." Venom was careful to include his honorific, lest he succumb to the same vain impulse. "So ... Kerrigan. I've seen a lot of the galaxy and I've never seen anything quite like you or your ... companions. What is the zerg swarm, pray tell?"
And how well do they go with chilli sauce? he mused as he swallowed back drool that rushed out at the thought.
![[Image: gdc0h.gif]](http://www.cytokineindustries.com/chevereto/images/2018/04/18/gdc0h.gif)